The shaky breath came out as he slowly lowered himself onto his desk chair. This was the first time he’d ever vented this much, and where had it gotten him? Nowhere.
Still.
Not that he was surprised, but it still baffled him how someone could be so damn callous to their own flesh and blood.
Suddenly, Evie’s words from last night came back to him.
“Did you ever purposely hurt someone? Were you ever deliberately mean to them?”
“No.”
“Do you think your father was?”
“Yes.”
“Then see? You’re not like him.”
He wanted to believe it was that simple, but he’d been telling himself the complete opposite for most of his life for no reason. And he wasn’t sure he was ever going to be able to believe otherwise.
No matter how strong the proof was.
The alarm on his phone chimed reminding him that his hike was going to start in fifteen minutes. With no other choice, he got to his feet, looking around his office and still feeling a little shell-shocked by everything that had just happened there.
“Hey,” Lexi said quietly as she opened the door. “Are you okay?”
All he could do was nod.
“I saw Cal walking across the lobby and figured it was safe to come back.” She gave him a sad smile. “Want to talk about it?”
“No. But thanks. I’ve got a hike in fifteen.”
“Okay. I’ll be here when you get back,” she said. “You know, whether we need to go over schedules or you just want to sit in silence, I’m here.”
That made him smile. Barely. “Thanks, Lex. I’ll see you later.”
And when he stepped out of the office, he forced himself to focus on the task at hand and forget about the conversation with his father.
It wasn’t hard to do.
He’d been doing it his entire life.
Three days later, Evie stared down at her phone with a loud sigh.
Tom: Hey, Sis! We’ve been missing you around here. I’m sorry Mom and Dad never made it over to see you, but they’ve been helping with wedding stuff since you’re not here.
Tom: You’re going to be back before we all leave for Costa Rica, right?
Tom: I heard about what happened with Morgan’s cousin. Is it going to be weird for you to see him with his girlfriend?
She groaned. “Is nothing private?”
Tom: Although, there really isn’t anything I can do about it. The guest list is already small, and Morgan’s close with him, so…
“Then why even ask?” she murmured.
Tom: Anyway, hope you’ll be home before all the festivities begin! We can really use your help organizing everything. You know Morgan’s not great with that kind of thing. She was really hoping you’d be here to assist. No one makes things run smoothly like you do!
Tom: Miss you, kiddo!
